Week 4 roundup

You’re getting sick of hearing this already: its been another barnstorming week of flux, taking in a 48 hour train ride, Seattle, Vancouver and possibly the best photo I’ve captured in entire life (overstatement to retain interest), as part of the latest edition of my Weekly Challenge.

I’m going to post with some more collected thoughts on how it feels to have spent an entire month in flux but to cut a long story short, I’m pretty relaxed now. Naps are happening on a daily basis, I’m managing to get over my prejudices toward backpackers and relax into life without work, life on the road and – thanks to this blog and a continuous flow of new challenges and experiences – life in flux.

More relaxed, more happy.

Two days solid on a train won’t give you much, but it will arm you with an eyeful of countryside and headspace to write, JK Rowling came up with Harry Potter on the train, after all. In fact, I think being on a train for so long was perfect tonic for a fluxer who doesn’t know how to wind down. Confined space, no wifi, limited activities, great food and a gentle and steady rhythm. Aaaand relax…

The Empire Builder Amtrak train we took from Chicago to Seattle delivered stunning – STUNNING – countryside. Even the flat and snowy plains of North Dakota, through which most passengers grumbled in boring tones, had me mesmerised, and the Montana big country and Rockies delivered in spades, as did the lush countryside of Washington State which greeted us beyond the mountains. Aside from some lovely and slightly older American couples we met, I also got chatting to two different travellers who were both thoroughly decent and interesting for their own reasons. I’m going to live to regret my traveller baiting, I can tell…

The rest of the week was taken up with happy and gentle sightseeing in Seattle and Vancouver, along with a fair degree of focus on my quest to take one amazing photo.